Virginia Screenwriting Competition

The 2018 Virginia Screenwriting competition will open for submissions APRIL 13, 2018.All submissions must be emailed to the Virginia Film Office by the end of the day, MAY 29, 2018.

The Virginia Screenwriting Competition was established in 1988 as an opportunity for Virginia writers to have their work read and evaluated. Three prize-winners are selected each year. Since that time, the competition has received more than 1,000 entries from all parts of the state.

The first round of judging is by judges from within the state who each select one or two scripts to be finalists in the competition. These scripts are then sent to working professionals in the industry who read all of the final screenplays and select the three winners. An award of $1,000 is given to each of the winners without rank as part of the Virginia Film Festival, held in Charlottesville in November.

The Virginia Screenwriting Competition is unique in that all entries receive a written evaluation from the first round judges, often giving writers valuable insight into ways to improve their work. In addition, the competition is one of the few in the nation requiring no entrance fee.